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The Secret to Big Arms
Big Arms Equal Well Developed Triceps
By Leo Robert. Former Mr. Universe Pro
The tricep is a three-headed muscle that is often taken for granted in the gym. In man's quest for big arms, perhaps it is the appeal of a flexed bicep that sums up all those hours doing curls. But if size and power is what you are aiming for, then consider the tricep muscle which occupies two thirds of your upper arm. Well developed triceps can make a dramatic change to your physique and they don’t need to flexed to be noticed!
The three segments of this muscle includes the long head, lateral head and the medial head. By developing this mighty trio to its full potential your arms will not only become huge, you will have gained considerable power on your bench press. And while I am on this topic, many guys believe that as long as they are doing their bench press and overhead exercises such as the shoulder and military presses, the triceps are receiving adequate attention. But the truth is, you will need to isolate your triceps workouts just like the rest of your muscles. I recommend that you do complete arm workouts i.e. both bicep and tricep routines together. It is the only way you are going to achieve the maximum pump and it is through achieving this “pump” that your muscles develop and gain mass. There are many tricep exercises that focus on strength, size as well as definition. For the purpose of this article I will be discussing ways to bulk up and strengthen this powerful muscle!
One of my favourite exercises for achieving great gains, is the triceps bench curl. It allowed me to increase the weight and still maintain strict style. I usually used 225 lbs for this exercise, varying my grip to work the tricep heads from different angles. I performed separate sets using the close grip, shoulder grip and wide grip. If you can find two workout partners, I recommend trying the pyramid for this exercise. Your tricep muscles will be smoking when you’re done! The following will demonstrate the concept of the pyramid:
After an adequate warm-up, begin with the maximum weight you are capable of curling for six repetitions.
Your partners will then remove 5 pounds from either side of the barbell.
Without taking a break continue but this time do 7 repetitions.
In a similar fashion, the partners will remove another 5 pounds.
Continue without taking a break and do 8 repetitions and so on.
In other words continue to drop the weight by five-pound increments and increase the number of repetitions by one rep each time until you have reached the “bottom of your pyramid” or all the weight is gone. You will finish off with a set just using the barbell.
Other great exercises for developing the tricep muscles are the reverse dipping bar, the tricep bench dip, the triceps pull up using a dumbbell and the triceps pulley. These exercises will address the three different heads of the tricep.
Besides developing my biceps to their full potential, my triceps played a significant role in reaching 19.5 inch arms for the Mr. Universe contest! Train hard and be your best!
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